Whoever said young people couldn’t make a difference, hadn’t met these 5 youngsters with a mission to change the world! 

Leading the fight against climate change and setting a real example for us all, here are 5 young people who have taken it upon themselves to inspire change. Each of them refused to accept that more couldn’t be done to protect our environment and channelled their passion and unique skills into making their voices heard!

Greta Thunberg

Credit: Greta Thunberg Facebook

I want you to act as if the house was on fire. Because it is.

Aged just 16, Swedish student Greta Thunberg became a global phenomenon when she established her movement ‘Fridays for Future.’ In 2018, Greta began the movement by striking from school on Friday’s to raise awareness for environmental issues and inspired 1.6 million others around the world to do the same!

Since then, Greta has stood in front of world leaders, spoken at climate change rallies in Stockholm, Helsinki, Brussels, and London, and attended the United Nations climate change conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland. She was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and has been named ‘Game Changer of the Year’ by GQ magazine!

Jaden Anthony

Credit: Kid Brooklyn Comics 

I have the ability to drink clean, fresh water, but not a lot of people have the same right or the same luck as me.

When asked what he wanted to accomplish in life, 12-year-old Jaden Anthony replied that he wanted to “make the world a better place” and that’s exactly what he’s doing! From the age of 10, Jaden wanted to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children around the world and spread the word about climate change.

How? Well Jayden, alongside his father, Joseph has developed an inspiring graphic novel series called ‘Kid Brooklyn.’ The series follows the main character (Jayden) and his friends as they are given the power to save the planet from evil aliens (disguised as corporations and environmental crises.) As well as being an exciting and adventurous comic book, Kid Brooklyn is focussed on educating young people on environmental issues facing the world today and helping to fund environmental and educational focussed charities.

Timoci Naulusala

Credit: Unicef.org

Ladies and Gentlemen, speeches and talks won’t solve the problem but walk the talk is more effective.

At 12 years of age, Timoci Naulusala from Fiji addressed world leaders about the dangers of climate change in Bonn, Germany. Timoci goes to school in Tailevu which is one of the many districts that was damaged by the severe Tropical Cyclone Winston in Fiji back in 2016. As the most intense tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere on record, the results were devasting as it took the lives of 44 Fijians, destroyed homes, uprooted families and inflicted serious damage to crops and farms.

In 2017, Timoci spoke out at the United Nations Climate Change Conference and his brave and powerful speech urged world leaders to take action on climate change and protect future generations. During his time on stage, Timoci called on the ‘global village’ to open their eyes to the impact of climate change and told world leaders that the blaming and waiting game was over. He received a standing ovation and shook hands with some of the most powerful people in the world!

Amy and Ella Meek

Credit: Kids Against Plastic

We set out to pick up 100,000 pieces of plastic, that’s one for every sea mammal killed by plastic in the oceans every year.

Sisters Amy and Ella Meek, aged 13 and 16 are the founders of the ‘Kids Against Plastic‘ movement. Tired of hearing about the impact single-use plastic is having on our oceans and wildlife, the sisters decided to take it upon themselves to make a change. Speaking at TEDx talk in 2018, Amy and Ella spoke of their mission to reduce single-use plastic in supermarkets around the world and their aim to pick up 100,000 plastic items. To date, they have managed to pick up 65,890 pieces of single-use plastic!

Allison Boyer

Credit: redapes.org

I have and always will feel personally responsible to try my best to rally as many people as I can to help save these creatures.

Last year, the Parm oil debate came into focus after Iceland declared they would no longer use this substance in any of their food to protect the orangutans in the rainforest. People everywhere were in uproar that this substance was even allowed to be used in the first place when it caused so much damage. Well, Allison Boyer has been fighting the Parm oil war since she was just 7 years old!

Now 18, Allison is continuing to do her bit to banish Palm oil. She is now an ambassador for Orangutan Outreach whose mission is to protect orangutans in their native habitat while providing care for orphaned and displaced orangutans. To help fund this project, Allison set up a nonprofit business called Purses for Primates where she collects gently used purses and re-sells them at purse parties!

These young people, just like many others, have decided to take the fight against climate change into their very own hands! We don’t all need to be making headlines to be making a difference, but we do need to join forces and do our very best to ensure a sustainable future for the next generation.

Check out these simple but effective ways we can all help to save our world, just like these 5 young heroes!

Tags: Environmentalists, Fix First, Saving the World